My life is over

[Stephen]

As my friend put it: "No matter where you stand, be it outside or inside, any direction you look, you will see something to be done."

That is my story. We closed on our first house today. A grueling 2 hours of signing a million documents, and poof, we've spent a quarter of a million dollars in an instant to be paid off in 30 years.

We're glad to be out of the "paying rent" game. At least now we get equity for our monthly payments. Plus with the rent we collect from the other unit, we have our 3-bedroom unit for a LOT less that it would cost to rent.

I'll tell you one more thing, our creditt, lousy, our income (my income...wife is stay-at-home mom) is mediocre, but we still got financed. Not the lowest rate in the world,. but it's affordable. So don't let anyone tell you you can't. IF you are able to pay the rate... you can find SOMEONE to finance you. I'm living proof.

And don't make late payments. That hurts more than having too much debt it seems...

That's what I've learned in this 4-month process. Now the fun begins... PAINTING!

Happy new year!

-Stephen, the homeowner

 

[skijay]

Congratulations on your purchase!

Owning a home is an investment. I have friends who own Mercedes Benz and bought new right out of college. They wanted the status. They lived at home with mommy and daddy and some continue to and drive cars with 40k to 50k tags.

A car is not an investment, it is a disposable item like a razor.

 

[SilentCal]

Good Job Stephen! Now the fun begins. We purchased our home several years ago and there are always little projects to do around the house now. Home Depot will become your friend before long! Just try not to finish your projects before you start new ones.

 

[MtnMagic]

Glad you were able to get credit and finally close before the new year -- good for you new homeowners!

Spend lots of time this winter painting and such so this year you'll have the time to do some hiking, particularly the Presi traverse we talked about. Also you'll have time to attend another FOT48 meeting weekend ... which reminds me.

 

[Greg]

Congrats Stephen! Second only to raising kids, owning your own home can be one of life's most rewarding challenges.

The fact that you'll also be a landlord should make it even more interesting!

 

[ChileMass]

Good luck, Stephen - a quick point from my experience - buy good paint and brushes. The extra up-front cost is worth it not to have to do it over and over again.

Looking forward to regular project updates from your new/old house.......

 

[Stephen]

Well, since I last stopped in Friday morning, we've been going non-stop in the new place. Some of the things we've done:

-Painted all 3 bedrooms
-Put up borders in the 2 kids' bedrooms
-Took the wallpaper down in the kitchen
-Repainted the kitchen
-Scraped/sanded the cabinets and repainted them
-New toilet
-New showerhead
-Blinds on all the windows
-Installed a fiberglass sheet on the wall behind the washer & dryer

Oh, and the first thing I did in the new house? Shovelled the driverway! Ah the joys of New England!

And in the midst of all this, I also recieved my first rent check.

We're going to rag over the kitchen wall to make a faux texture. Gotta put the cabinet doors back on, and assemble the new bunk beds.

Phone and sattelite (with TIVO!) come in tomorrow, new stove on the 13th. DSL on the 18th. 2nd job on the 19th.

-Stephen

 

[MtnMagic]

Wow, have you kept busy.

Your life isn't over. Heck, it's just begun.

Good for you guys. Stay busy.

Thank you for the update!

 

[TenPeaks]

-Installed a fiberglass sheet on the wall behind the washer & dryer

I'm wondering, why did you install a fiberglass sheet behind the washer and dryer? I've never heard of anyone doing that before.

 

[Stephen]

-Installed a fiberglass sheet on the wall behind the washer & dryer

I'm wondering, why did you install a fiberglass sheet behind the washer and dryer? I've never heard of anyone doing that before.

Qood question. The washer & dryer are located in our extended kitchen. When we took the wallpaper off, we found wood panelling underneath. The panelling behind the washer had water damage on it, and couldn't be repainted without some serious work, most likely replacement.

As a work around, we decided to get a sheet of glasteel (the white textured fiberglass stuff) and place that just behinfd the washer & drtyer, since there is a possibility of more water (it's a washer, after all) hitting the wall.

At one point my wife mused about putting the stuff through our whole kitchen. I told her to imagine eating every meal in a giant bathtub! That nixed that idea.

We'll take pictures of the place before we move our stuff in this Saturday.

-Stephen

 

[TenPeaks]

I bought my house almost a year ago and can sympathize with being innovative in work arounds. I've got a basement bar that needed a new floor and ceiling. Since the ceiling is only 7 feet I couldn't put in a drop ceiling, so instead I got some wall paneling and screwed it into the slats running across the support beams. It actually came out rather nice and I brought the bar out of the 1960's and into the 1980's.

Speaking of washers and dryers, I bought a new set in November. Being the helpful sort that I am I went to the basement the night before to unhook the water supply so the delivery guys would have an easy time getting the old machines out. Little did I realize one of the (closed) valves was leaking so when the delivery came the next day half the basement was flooded! I'm just glad I didn't unhook everything 2 days before like I thought of doing.

The joys of home ownership.